1. Field
The present application relates generally to collection and processing of information about preferences, interests, and locations of participating users, and more specifically to collection and processing of information about user interest in particular interests, such as brands or other subjects, at particular locations and/or particular times.
2. Related Art
Association of consumer products, such as automobiles with users of web sites, and display of such associations, e.g., as part of a list in a user's online profile, is known in the art. Social networking web sites such as Facebook® and MySpace® allow a user to create an online identity that includes a user profile, and associate institutional affiliations and interests with the profile. A user may refer to a real-world object in their profile to indicate that they endorse, use, want, or own that object. The social networking sites allow multiple users to share their online identities, search for users based on interest, affiliation, and any other information stored in the identity, associate with other users, e.g., by joining a group related to a common interest, and communicate with each other by sending private messages and posting public messages. A user's affiliations and interests will then be displayed in association with the user, e.g., on the user's information page, or with messages the user posts. The user thereby shares his or her interests with other users, who may learn about the user's interests from the web site. Advertisers may then direct advertisements to particular users based on the users' interests and affiliations.